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(No Model.) -2 Sheath-Sheet; 1.

' E. A.BOURQUI N.

CORN HUSKING MACHINE. 10,244,171 Patented July-712.1881.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

l(No Model.)

E A BOURQUIN CORN HUSKING MACHINE.

No. 244,177.v

Patented July 12, 1881.

Jin/m65@ /w-V M7/yam@ Wma@ d@ I ig Z NA PETERS. PlmLiUngraphsr. Walhinghn. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EUGENE A. BOURQUIN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., (EMILY A. BOURQUIN, ADMIN- ISTRATRIX OF SAID BOURQUIN, DECEASED.)

CORN-HUSKING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 244,177, dated July 12, 1881. Application filed May 4, 1880. (No model.)

To all 'Lv/tom it may concern Be it known that I, EUGENE A. BOURQUIN, of the city and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Corn-Husking Machines, of which the following is a specification.

Corn-husking machines have been made in which two pairs of husking-rollers have been supported in a frame and revolved by gearing; but the rollers have to be small in diameter to operate to advantage on the husk; but the gear-wheels that connect such rollers, being also small, are liable to be, broken and the teeth do not work properly, especially when one roller separates from the other to let the bunch of husks pass through. These inclined husking-rollers have also been supported in movable journals, so as to yield; but these journals are liable to become clogged with dust and not to slide, hence the rolls are either injured or become inoperative.

My invention is an improvement upon the corn-huskers of the character aforesaid, and relates to a movable frame that carries the bushing-rollers, and can be raised or lowered at one end, so as to vary the angle at which the rollers stand, and cause the ears of corn to move with greater or less rapidity as they slide down; also to the arrangement of the gearing, whereby larger gear -wheels can be used without increasing the size of the rollers, and the gear-teeth always interlock correctly; also to the construction of the yielding bearings for one roller in each pair to insure rapidity of opening and closing movement also to the feed-apron and adjusting mechanism to vary the inclination of the ear as it reaches the husking-rollers.

In the drawings, Figure l is a vertical section of the machine. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan at the line x x. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the rollers at the line y y; and Fig. 4 is a section at the line z z, Fig. 3.

The main frame of the machine is preferably of wood, with standards a, rails b, andcrossbearers b. The main shaft o is in bearings c upon this frame, and the same may be driven by a belt to the pulley d, or a y-wheel, d', and a crank-handle can be used to give motion to the machine. I have represented by dotted lines in Fig. 1 a lever, e, pivoted to the frame, and

frame f f' can be raised or lowered without altering the position of the gearing that is carried by the frame j' f in its relation to the driving-wheel g upon said shaft c.

llhe lower end of the frame ff is provided with segmental slots for the clamping-bolts h, and the adjusting-screw h( and wheel-nut 3, that is above the cross-bar 4, serve to support and adjust the position of the frame f f and the parts carried by it, while the clampingbolts h are loose.

The frame f f carries two pairs of huskingrollers, the rollers Z l, near the center, being in stationary bearings 6 6 on the cross-bar f' of said frame f, and therollers n n, near the outer partsof the cross -bar bearings.

I am aware that rollers arranged in pairs and at an inclination have been used, and that the bea-rings for the outer rollers have been movable; but as these rollers revolve very fast, and frequently draw off bunches of husks, the rollers, or the rubber blocks of the rollers, are injured, because the sliding bearings do not yield with freedom and rapidity. To avoid this difficulty, and also to prevent the bearings becoming wedged apart, I make use of swinging lever-bearings o o. Each bearing is double, so as to straddle the cross-barj" of the frame f, one leg or lever passing at each side of the frame, the bearing o, for the shaft of the roller n, being at the upper part, and a spring acting upon the lower ends of the levers lto press the roller 'n toward the roller l. The lever-bearings swing on the pivot-pins or bolts r, that pass through the frame and through both the leverlegs of the bearing, and a toe on one of the levers of each bearing, coming against a stopscrew s, limits the movement of the rollers n toward the rollers l, and prevents unnecessary Wear upon the rubber blocks that project from the surfaces of the rollers.

I prefer to use the spring-bars t, that pass f', being in movable through adjusting screw-eyes 8, and are provided at their ends with tubes 9, containing rubber tubes, into which rubber tubes the ends of the spring-bars t pass. The tubes 9 bear against the lower ends of the lever-legs of the bearings o, and by this construction the bearing is free to swing with little or no friction, and the tube 9 forms a bearing against both legs of the bearing, and the rubber between the tube and the spring-bar forms a cushion that increases the yielding character of the parts. At the same time the necessary force can be applied to the moving roller by adjusting the screw-eye 8 at the center of the springbar.

rlhe pieces 12,13,and 14 form guiding-troughs for the ears of corn as before used.

The shafts of the rollers l. Z, at their upper Y ends, carry two bevel-gear wheels t2, between which the bevel-gear wheel g on the shaft c runs and gives motion to such rollers.

The gears u upon the shafts of the rollers Z gear to the wheels e, that are upon gudgeons projecting from the end of the frame f', and these wheels c gear to other wheels, e', that, in

turn, drive the wheels 16 on the shafts of the rollers n. In consequence of this arrangement the rollers n are free to swing and open and close without the gear-teeth, becoming separated, because the gears o are upon prolongations of the bolts 4^, that form the pivots for the lever-bearin gs o, and by making the gears o of double thickness I am able to use larger gears than heretofore, because the gears u and 16 lap past each other, instead of gearing together as heretofore. A

The cover w serves to hold the ears and prevent their turning up endwise between thel husking-rollers. This has before been used.

The feed-apron z is pivoted, near its upper end, to the screws 18, that pass through the upper ends of the frame f, and there are nuts on said screws, by means of which the upper end of the apron is raised or lowered, so as to determine the angle at which the ear of corn shall pass down the apron and be taken bythe bushing-rollers. This hinged apron can be swung back out o f the way when the gearing is tobe cleaned or the parts oiled.

If the bevel-gears t2 are clamped to the shafts of the rollers l, one pair of husking-rollers can be disconnected, so as to remain stationary, by moving the bevel-gear t2 back upon the shaft out of gear with the wheel g. If only one bevelgear t2 is provided, instead of two, it will be necessary to gear the two middle shafts together by parallel gears, in eitherinstance the gearing ofth e rollers together in pairs remainin gy the same. In consequence of arranging the gears in the manner shown I am able to drive all the rollers in the proper direction, and at the same time the middle rollers are not close together, as has heretofore been usual; but they are at a sufficient distance apart to run entirely independently, and hence there will not be any contact of the surfaces of these rollers or of the rubber plugs that may project from them, and one pair of rollers may remain stationary while the other is in operation, thus adapting the machine to either hand or steam power.

I am aware that in corn-husking machines the outer rollers of the pairs of rollers have been supported in yielding bearings, but these slide upon the cross-bars and speedily become clogged by dust and dirt.

I am also aware that in some kinds of machines rollers have been supported in swinging bearings.

With corn-husking machines it is necessary that the roller-bearin gs yield with rapidity in passing the lumps of husks, otherwise the rollers are injured.

My yielding lever-bearings are peculiarly constructed, so as to yield freely and at the same time support the rollers firmly and prevent end motion.

I claim as my inventionl. The combination, in` a corn-husking machine, of two pairs of huskin g-rollers, the frame ff', the driving-shaft and gearing connecting to the rollers, the tubular bearings c', to which the frame ff is connected, and throughwhich the driving-shaft passes, and the `segmental slots and screws at the lower ends of the frame, as set forth.

2. The frame f j", with the pairs of cornhuskin g rollers, in combination with the tubu lar bearings c', shaft c, adjusting screw -h, and nut 3, andthe clamping-screws h passing through segmental slots in the frame f, as set forth.

3. The combination, with the husking-rollers Z n and frame, of the lever-bearin gs o, made double'to straddlethe frame, the pivot-bolts 1', and the springs acting upon the lever-bearings, asand for-the purposes set forth.

4. The combination, with the husking-rollers l n, of the lever-bearings o, straddling the cross-barfl and having toes, and the adjusting-screws s, to yregulate the approachof the roller u to the roller l, and springs t, acting upon such lever-bearin gs, substantially as set forth.

` 5. The bar-sprin gs t and the adj ustin g-screw 8, in combination with the metal and rubber tubes at the ends, into which the ends of the springs pass, and thelever-bearin gs o and roller fn, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, with the pairs` of rollers la in a corn-husking machine, of thev bevelgears t2 on the shafts of the rollers l, and the double bevel-wheel g upon the driving-shaft c, which bevel-wheel passes in between thegears t2 and drives them, as set forth.

7. In a corn-husking machine, the two pairs of corn-husking rollers and the lever-bearings` o o, in combination with the gears u, o, .'v'., and 16, applied to each pair of rollcrsand arranged and acting as set forth, so that the gears u and 16 lap past each other and the gear c is upon the fulcrum of the lever-bearing of the roller n, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination, in a corn-husking ma- IOO IOS I IIS chine, of two pairs of rollers and the gearing for connecting the respective pairs of rollers, the gear-wheel g and bevel-gears t2 upon the shafts of the rollers l, substantially as set forth,

5 so that one pair of rollers may be thrown out 1880.

of action by disconnecting one of the gears t2, asspecied.

9. The combination, with the corn-husking rollers and their frame f f', of the feed-apron z, the hinges or pivots at its upper end, and 1o the adjusting-screws passing into the frame f f', for the purposes set forth.

Signed by me this 30th da;r of April, A. D.

EUGENE A. BOURQUIN. Witnesses:

GEO. T. PINOKNEY,

WILLIAM G. MoT'r. 

